The invention starts from a tire module which is known from DE 603 10 104 T2 (EP 1 549 515 B1) or the like. The known tire module is attached to the inside of a pneumatic tire for motor vehicles. It contains a device for measuring and/or monitoring the air pressure in the tire and a transmitter for transmitting radio signals which contain information regarding the air pressure in the tire. The electric energy, which the tire module requires, is supplied by a mechanical-electrical transducer with a flexible piezo-electric element, which is exposed to acceleration forces, which with rolling tire are exerted by a seismic mass and change at the beginning and at the end of a passage of the tire module through the contact area of the tire (contact patch). The electric energy generated by the piezo-electric element increases with the size of the seismic mass and with the rotational speed of the tire. The electric energy supplied by the piezo-element is fed to a storage unit, from which it can be taken for operating the device for measuring and/or monitoring the tire pressure and for operating the transmitter. The mechanical-electrical transducer exploiting the piezo effect can replace a long-life battery that is otherwise required in the tire module.
WO 2010/092171 A2, WO 2007/099159 A1 and DE 10 2004 031 810 A1 also disclose tire modules with a piezo-element, which is subjected to forces with which centrifugal accelerations act on a seismic mass which is connected to the piezo-element. US 2007/0074566 A1 discloses a tire module with a piezo-element, which generates electric energy from the tire pressure fluctuations that occur.
It may be one of many objects of the present invention to provide a tire module that can be particularly easily mounted and which may be autonomous with respect to its power supply.
This object may be solved by a tire module with the features stated in the independent claims. A further subject of the invention is a tire which is equipped with such a tire module. Advantageous further developments of other embodiments of the invention may be the subject of the dependent claims.